Community care refers to any form of assistance, support and care provided in the local community enabling people to overcome or manage any condition, disability, or life difficulties they may face. Within community care, a key aspect of quality is ensuring the involvement of people using services. Co-production refers to the delivery of public social services in which citizens and service users are involved in planning, implementing and evaluating policies and services.

The transition from large residential institutions to community or family settings remains a challenge across Europe, to varying degrees depending on the sector and the country. The UN Conventions on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Rights of the Child enshrine the rights to live in community and family settings, hence we work with our members locally to ensure that these rights are implemented at local level, through the work of public social services.

Our work with ESN Members

Since 2008, we have been exploring the challenges of managing the transition from institutional to community-based services. 

We ran a working group until 2010 and produced a guide on how to approach community care. Between 2011 and 2012 we ran a training programme for sixteen policy makers and social managers from Central and Eastern Europe.

We also mainstreamed community care in our work on disability and mental health. In 2018, we published a toolkit on independent living and social inclusion for people with disabilities, which was the result of the work conducted by ESN working group on disability, set up in 2014.

Building up from our work on community care, disability and mental health, we will organise a seminar in 2019 to analyse the participation of service users in the planning, delivery and evaluation of services as a key aspect of quality.

Our contribution to the European level

We have been part of the European Expert Group (EEG) on the transition from institutional to community-based care and ran national seminars to train civil servants on the use of EU funds for community care.

Alongside this we have worked closely with the EU in implementing the European Pact for Mental Health and Wellbeing, shaping policy discussions and contributing with practice examples, and participating in the European Joint Action on Mental Health and Wellbeing with the aim to develop a European Framework for Action on Mental Health and Wellbeing.

Building up from our work on community care, disability and mental health, we will organise a seminar in 2019 to analyse the participation of service users in the planning, delivery and evaluation of services as a key aspect of quality.

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